This invention relates to food containers, and more particularly to a container having two distinct compartments: one for storing foodstuffs and another—for receiving inedible portions of foodstuffs.
Many people enjoy eating snacks while watching television, going to the movies, attending a sporting event, reading a book, etc. Some of the most popular snacks are natural food products, such as fruit and seeds. Many of the natural foodstuffs have edible portion and inedible portion, such as shells and pits. The edible part of the natural snack is consumed, while the inedible part is disposed of as waste.
Conventionally, shelled nuts and seeds are sold in plastic bags or small cups. The user removes the seeds from the bag, cracks the seed and consumes the kernel, while the shell remains as waste. The inedible part of the natural snack must be collected and properly disposed in a sanitary manner. However, the market does not appear to have provided an easy solution to collecting inedible portions of the foodstuffs, such as nut shells, in immediate association with a container for the foodstuff.
One of the known solutions to collect spent shells, such as sunflower shells, is discussed in U.S. Application Publication No. 2005/0161424 published on Jul. 28, 2005 and entitled “Sunflower Seed Dispenser and Shell Disposal Container.” This application discloses a dual-compartment container designed specifically to dispense unshelled sunflower seeds and to hold sunflower seed refuse. The container comprises a dispenser compartment, a disposal compartment, and a dividing wall. The two compartments are separately blow molded, and the dividing wall is made up of one surface of the dispenser compartment and one surface of the disposal compartment. The two compartments are held together by packaging and/or surface mating means, such as snaps. The dispenser compartment contains sunflower seeds, and the disposal compartment contains sunflower seeds refuse, which includes sunflower seed shells. Each of the compartments comprises a neck and a cap. The neck of the disposal compartment is situated on top of the container and is wider than the neck of the dispenser compartment to facilitate spitting refuse into the disposal compartment.
Another example of a dual-compartment container is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,074,841 issued on Dec. 13, 2011 to Darrin L. Craig et al and entitled for “Food Containers and Dispensers with Dual Compartments for Storage and Disposal.” The assembly according to the '841 patent includes a first compartment that defines a first cavity and a second compartment that is moveable in relation to the first compartment. In a first position, a portion of the first compartment is contained within the second compartment and, in a second position, the second compartment defines a second cavity. The container also includes a tube coupled to the first opening and the first cavity such that food contained in the first cavity can be dispensed through the second opening. The lid has flaps, which pivot against a stationary portion of the lid. The stationary portion extends between the flaps.
While these solutions may work in various environments, there exists a need for a inexpensive simple-to-use dual-compartment container capable of receiving inedible portions of consumed foodstuffs.